"In this country, we have lost the basic belief that youth participation is essential to economic, community and civic development."
- Karen Pittman

In a culture that affords youth too few opportunities to experience purpose, power, and place, is it any wonder that so many young people feel disconnected from their communities?

When we treat youth primarily as customers, clients, recipients of services, or problems to be fixed, when we do too much "to" them or "for" them and not enough "with" them, we deprive them of opportunities to get their basic developmental needs met in prosocial ways, and become the adults we'd all like to have as colleagues and neighbors.

Community Matters can help you put the "youth" in youth development with strategies like:

Youth-Led Community Meetings, Forums, and Summits
Imagine a team of youth working with adult support to design and lead a full-day gathering where hundreds of people from your community discuss and take action on an important issue like violence prevention, diversity and tolerance, community development, asset building, AIDS, or... imagine joining forces. >>>

Youth Speakers Bureau
Let the voice of youth ring out (in ways the adults can hear)! Create a cadre of young people equipped to make effective presentations to community audiences about relevant issues, and build intergenerational bridges of understanding, respect, and trust. >>>

Leadership Training
Loaded with inspiration and practicality, this custom-designed training can help the young people in your community acquire and refine the skills they need to work effectively on Youth Advisory Councils or as partners with adults on specific projects. >>>

G-Force
Create a team of youth and adults who use games and other experiential tools to train school, business and community groups in the skills and values necessary for building and sustaining a safe and healthy community. >>>

Peer Education / Peer Helping
Harness the innate desire of young people to make a positive difference, and give it structure and direction. Equip youth to provide services like conflict resolution, school safety monitoring, tutoring, mentoring, new student orientations, ATOD prevention education, and more. >>>

Service Learning
Boost student motivation and learning by creating opportunities for students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to the solution of genuine community problems. >>>

As the youth development paradigm shifts from risk to resiliency, Community Matters can help you stay current and better prepare the youth in your community to take up the mantle of adulthood.

Contact us for more information today!